The Seton's of Pitmedden

The House of Seton of Pitmedden, in the County of Aberdeen, descends from William Seton of Meldrum, who was the second son of Sir Alexander Seton, Lord Gordon and his wife, Elizabeth Gordon the heiress of that family. The second and third quarterings in the Pitmedden arms are those of Meldrum of that Ilk. Pitmedden came to the Seton's through marriage with the Patton family, in Marjory Patton in 15xx.  The cadet line of Pitmeddon was represented at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1639 by John Seton of Pitmedden who was a leading Royalist.

The Civil War broke out in the North East which was the country of the Gordons and Setons. The King's adherents were led by George, 2nd Marquis of Huntly and his second son, Lord James Gordon, Viscount of Aboyne. The leader of the Covenanters was James Graham, Earl of Montrose, who was later to be such a distinguished supporter of King Charles I who created him Marquis of Montrose.

Huntly was captured by a trick whilst under safe conduct, which has been said to be the only blot on the honour or Montrose during his whole career. The King's party gained an initial victory at the Trot of Turniff in May 1639 but at the Bridge of Dee on 19 June following, Aboyne was defeated by Montrose. Naturally, the Gordons' might included their Seton kinsmen, among whom was mustered John Seton of Pitmedden who was killed by a cannon ball through his heart while fighting under the Royal Standard. This we know from the entries of the arms of his son, Sir Alexander Seton of Pitmedden, Lord Pitmedden, in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland. This was the new register of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, inaugurated in 1672 by an Act of the Scots Parliament and still current.

Sir Alexander Seton of Pitmeddon was knighted in 1664 and was Member of Parliament for the County of Aberdeen in 1681-82 and 1685-86. He was an advocate and became a Senator of the College of Justice and a Lord of Justiciary, taking the title of Lord Pitmeddon, in 1677. He was created a baronet of Nova Scotia on 15 January 1683/4 and retired into private life refusing to take the Oath of Loyalty to King William II and III in 1688. This refusal is not surprising in a member of an outstandingly loyal house whose entries in the Court of ther Lord Lyon show his pride in his father's sacrifice of his life for the House of Stuart.

The House of Seton of Pitmedden still flourishes and, on the death of Sir Robert Seton of Pitmedden, 11th Baronet of Pitmedden in 1993, it is understood that the heir lives in the United States of America.

It is surely fitting that a family descended from one of the Knights who took the heart of King James I to the Holy Land now bears a bloody heart in commemoration of its loyalty to King James' descendant, the Martyr King. The crest of a man holding the Royal Banner remembers a gallant ancestor, John Seton of Pitmedden, who fell under that flag at the Bridge of Dee over three hundred and fifty years ago.